This paper consists of an exploratory analysis of factors associated with inequality in the distribution of fiscal resources--the capacity to generate public goods--among municipal governments in metropolitan areas in the U.S. Political incorporation by class and status into municipal enclaves is stated to be institutional mechanism creating and perpetuating inequality among residents in metropolitan communities in the U.S. and tending to divorce financial resources from public needs. An investigation of data collected for a large number of metropolitan areas in 1960 reveals a number of variables associated with inequality in the distribution of fiscal resources among municipalities in metropolitan areas. The population of metropolitan areas consists of standard metropolitan statistical areas outside of New England with three or more municipalities with populations of 2500 and above. The level of income inequality among municipal governments in metropolitan areas varies directly with: location in the South, age, size, and density of the metropolis, non-white concentration, family income inequality, residential segregation among social classes, housing segregation by quality, and governmental fragmentation. The data appear to provide support for the argument that governmental inequality occupies a central position in the urban stratification system. (Author/JM)